


Freitag I'm in Love

by meggieglad



Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Clueless! Matteo, Dancer! David, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-12-18 06:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18244127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggieglad/pseuds/meggieglad
Summary: When Matteo feels stuck in life, David offers him a way out.





	1. I don't care if Monday's Blue

**Author's Note:**

> A fake dating AU? For MY Davenzi? It's more likely than you think.
> 
> my tumblr is @ballerinalouis in case you want to drop me a message about these silly boys.

**Sunday 12:40 AM**

 

Matteo's head was pounding in time to the music. He vaguely recognized the song. Sara and Leonie were shouting the lyrics to each other and jumping up and down to the rhythm, their hair swinging all around them. Jonas was whispering into some girls’ ear a few feet down the wall. It would be easy, Matteo realized, to just slip away. No one was paying him any attention.

 

So he did.

 

He wandered off, just slipped into the crowd like smoke and looked for somewhere quiet. This proved to be slightly difficult, as he was in a strange house and the hosts had the good sense to keep most of the doors locked. He hardly knew the person whose house it was, but the boys had insisted they go because Carlos had a thing for one of the host's friends. So they went.

 

Finally, Matteo found a door out to the fire escape. He stepped outside into the night and felt instant relief. The bass of the speakers faded away as he closed the door behind him. He leaned up on the railing and let out a long sigh, he watched his breath swirl lazily up into the sky.

 

“Hi,”

 

Matteo snapped his head up at the voice. He had thought he was alone.

 

It was the new kid. He was sat on the concrete, back against the railing, a blunt dangling from his fingers.

 

“Hey,” Matteo said.

 

“Did I scare you?” He asked, and Matteo couldn't quite tell if he was teasing.

 

“A bit,” He said, “Didn't know anyone was out here.”

 

“Well, I was out here.” He smiled, just the tiniest bit.

 

“ _Now_ you tell me.”

 

“I'm David,” he said.

 

“I know,” said Matteo, and immediately cringed at his own words. Why had he said that? That was not a normal thing to say. “I mean... Leonie's talked about you.”

 

“Ah, Leonie.” He said, as though he should have guessed. Matteo nodded. “So, do you have a name or...?”

 

“Uh, Matteo.”

 

“Do you smoke, Matteo?”

 

They passed the blunt back and forth a few times in silence. The night was silent, but for the tiny thrumming of the music against the sliding glass door. Matteo cleared his throat, feeling the need to fill the silence.

 

“So, what brings you out here all alone?” Matteo asked. David blew out some smoke before speaking.

 

“Needed a break. It's tiring constantly introducing yourself to people.”

 

“Everyone will have heard about you soon enough.”

 

“If Leonie has anything to say about it,” David said.

 

“She has a lot to say about it,” Matteo said. David laughed a little, on an exhale. “She's into you, I think,” Matteo said. Actually, he knew, Sara had told him.

 

“I'm not interested in Leonie,” David said. He fidgeted a bit with his shoelaces. “What about you? You seem to know her well.”

 

“Leonie? Not really. She's… my girlfriend's friend.” Matteo said, but he hardly got it out. He always had a problem saying it out loud. Girlfriend. It wasn't that hard. Except it was.

 

“Who?”

 

“Sara,” he mumbled.

 

“You don't sound that happy about Sara,” David said.

 

“I don't think I like her,” Matteo said, and he didn't know why he said that either. Maybe it was the weed. Or the beer. Or the headache.

 

“Why are you dating her if you don't like her?”

 

“Because what else am I supposed to do, you know?" He said.

 

David squinted a bit, took a thoughtful hit of the joint. He said nothing, so Matteo kept talking.

 

"it's like, there's no reason to break up with her. Not really. She's nice, and my friends all think she's hot, and… I don't know how to do it. It's not her fault.” He knew he was rambling but it felt so good to talk to someone about this and so his mouth ran and he let it.

 

“I'm just done with high school in general,” He said, “Like, all the guys ever talk about it girls and I just don't care, you know? So I thought if I got a girlfriend they would get off my back but it's just worse.”

 

“You need a reason,” David said, like it was the simplest solution in the world. “Like, an excuse. Your parents want you to focus on school maybe.”

 

“Yeah that… won't work.” Sara would never believe his parents were paying him that much attention.

 

“You're too busy for a relationship right now.” He suggested, and Matteo had to laugh at that one. He spent all day playing games on his computer. “You're leaving the country? To escape the mafia?” Now they were both laughing, quiet and giddy.

 

It wasn't until there laughter died out that David spoke again.

 

“There is one idea.” He said, sort of tentative.  

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Well, I'm having a problem of my own at the moment…” David said. He killed the end of the blunt beneath his shoe. “I sort of… well, there's this guy I used to date and I didn't know he went to our school before he showed up in my class one day but… he's the one who broke up with me and to prove to him that it didn't bother me I…” He trailed off, started twirling his shoelaces again. “I told him I have a new boyfriend...but I don't.”

 

“Now _that's_ a mess, bro,” Matteo said.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wait what does that have to do with me and Sara?”

 

David didn't say anything, just shrugged and gave Matteo this _look_ through his eyelashes, like he was waiting for him to catch up, and, oh. _Oh_.

 

“You don't want me to… to pretend to be your..”

 

“It's up to you, but think about it,” David said, standing up. “If everyone thinks you're gay, no one is going to bother you about girls.”

 

Then he slipped back through the sliding door and into the party, leaving Matteo to sit, confused and cross-faded, staring at the crushed remains of their blunt on the concrete.

 

**Sunday 11:14 AM**

 

None of the night really made any more sense when Matteo woke up the next morning. All he knew was that the whole party was a blur except for the twenty minutes out on the fire escape.

 

He rolled over and tapped at his phone until it lit up. He had too many messages.

 

 

> **Sara**
> 
>  
> 
> _Where did you go last night?_
> 
>  
> 
> _Wanted to dance with you more! 😏_
> 
>  
> 
> _Want to do lunch today? 🍕🍔🍟 I need hangover food._

 

 

> **ok.cool.**
> 
>  
> 
> Jonas **:** _whos up!!_
> 
>  
> 
> Abdi: _no one we're all hungover_
> 
>  
> 
> Jonas: _well I only smoked last night so sucks to be you guys_
> 
>  
> 
> Carlos: _guyssssss these notifs im trying to sleep 😖😖😖_
> 
>  
> 
> Jonas: _lets make bets Matteo wont be up before noon_
> 
>  
> 
> Carlos: _I'll take those odds_
> 
>  
> 
> Abdi: _Carlos, bro. No way. boy was wasted last night._
> 
>  
> 
> Jonas: _So gone he missed his opportunity with Sara if you know what I mean_
> 
>  
> 
> Jonas: 😏😏😏
> 
>  
> 
> Abdi: _foolish behavior_
> 
>  
> 
> Carlos: _In that case I take back my bet. He must have been smashed._

 

Matteo sighed, locking his phone without responding to anyone. He wished he really could leave the country sometimes. He tried to resist reaching back out for his phone at that thought, but the urge was too strong. He opening instagram, for Leonie's profile, and yep, there was David, tagged in a selfie from last night. He clicked on the profile, scrolled thought it, saw photos from last year of David with his ex boyfriend. Matteo's thumb hovered just over the follow button.

 

Another message came in.

 

 

> Abdi: _Luigi's the only bro I know whos girl has to convince HIM to sleep with HER 😂_

 

Matteo whisked the message off the screen and hit the follow button before he could second guess it. Then he opened a new dm.

 

 

> **To da_vid.gif:**
> 
>  
> 
> _Okay, let's do it._

 

Matteo jammed the send button with his thumb, threw his phone face down on the side of the bed and rolled back over.

 

He needed more sleep.

  


**Monday 12:35 PM**

 

Matteo had never been down to the film studio before, but there he was, sat on a stool next to a green screen, waiting for David.

 

David who he was going to date.

 

Well, fake date.

 

Matteo had changed his mind fifty times over but kept coming back to this. It was a chance. It was an escape from all the worst pressures in his life. Well, except for Biology, maybe. But if this was his escape route, he was going to take it.

 

“Hey,” said David, from the doorway.

 

“Hey,”

 

“I'm kind of shocked you came.”

 

“Well, here I am.”

 

“There you are.”

 

Matteo felt David's eyes on him, studying him like he was trying to solve a very difficult puzzle. Matteo didn't meet his eyes, just waited. And then David came over and sat on of the other stools.

 

“Okay, so,” David started, drumming on his thigh as he spoke. Matteo watched his fingers move instead of looking him in the eye. “I think we need some rules.”

 

“Rules?”

 

“Yeah, like so we are on the same page.”

 

“Right, okay.”

 

“For instance, have a rule,” David said, “If either of us gets uncomfortable we can call it off at any time.”

 

Matteo nodded, that sounded good.

 

“Also, we should go over who is allowed to know. You need Sara to know and I need Ben to know so those two are a given.”

 

“I also need my friends to know so they get off my back.” Matteo put in.

 

“Okay. And it would be easier for us to just be a couple in school, but we could pretend we are trying to keep it on the down low if you would rather not be out to the whole school.”

 

“I mean I'm not actually gay so I don't care.” He said, and Matteo knew that sounded backward, that his logic didn't make sense, but David didn't point it out.

 

“Cool,” said David, “No family though.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

“Cool.” David said, and then, “I do think we need to hang out after school today.”

 

“After school? Why?”

 

“I think we are going to need to get to know each other if it's going to look realistic. Because you haven't looked me in the eye once the whole time we've been here.”  

 

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Matteo said, and he had no choice but to meet his gaze now. It was heavy, searching.

 

“I'm serious when I say you don't have to do this,” David said, just barely above a whisper. Like he was afraid one wrong sound would send Matteo running back to Sara.

 

“I know. I want to.”

 

“Okay. So, after school then?”

  


**Monday 4:30 PM**

 

“Hello?” Matteo called into the apartment. It stayed quiet and he felt a wave a relief rush over him. “Nice.” He said.

 

“Your apartment is nice,” David said.

 

“Thanks.”

 

They grabbed a few bags of chips and sat down on Matteo's bedroom floor. Matteo was relieved to find that now that their conversation from lunch was out of the way, things felt less tense, and more like they did when they were together on the fire escape. For a while, they just talked about dumb stuff like video games and movies. They smoked a little and it felt like it was just a normal hang out. Then David broke the spell.

 

“So how did we meet?”

 

“Were you that stoned?” Matteo joked, “We were out on the fire escape.”

 

David smiled and shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

 

“Yeah,” Matteo agreed, “Okay so how about we met on the first day you were in school. I gave you directions to one of your classrooms.”

 

“Okay,” David said. “And we both liked each other but didn't realize until recently, which is why you will break up with Sara.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“When… uh, when are you going to do that?”

 

“Tonight,” Matteo said, and it came out miserable.

 

“You'll be okay. Just tell her it doesn't have anything to do with her. You just couldn't resist my charms.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Matteo said, but he felt his cheeks heating up. He rubbed his face in mock stress so David wouldn't see. Matteo never blushed. What was happening to him?

 

“Okay, so that's settled. We know a bit about each other. What's left?” David said. His voice still soft, always so soft. Matteo wondered of he did it on purpose or if that was just how his voice was.  

 

Matteo got an idea.

 

He gathered himself up off the floor and went to his wardrobe, pulling out a sweater. It was his trademark sweater. Just ugly enough to be cool. No one would have any doubt who it belonged to.

 

“Here,” he said, tossing the sweater onto David's lap. He looked up in confusion, but before he could say anything, Matteo swiped the beanie from his head and pulled it onto his own. “Couples wear each others clothes,” he explained. And David smiled. So soft.

 

He held the sweater up to his chest. “You expect me to wear this thing?”

 

“Excuse me, that is a great sweater!” Matteo said, “A great sweater!”

 

“Whatever you say,” David said.

 

"You not liking my sweaters is a deal breaker for this fake relationship."

 

"Fine, fine. I will wear your sweater."

 

"And I'll wear your beanie."

 

“So, are we ready?”

 

“Let's do this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be in 4 parts so look out for those!!!
> 
> EDIT: nvm lol i think its gonna be 5 there's too much I want to include. Also I changed the chapter name for *reasons*
> 
> again I'm ballerinalouis on tumblr in case you want to shout at me or something.


	2. Tuesday's Gray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day one of fake dating lets goooooo

**  
Tuesday 8:30 AM**

 

For all the confidence he had the day before, Matteo was feeling like he might vibrate out of his skin with anxiety. What if nobody believed them? What if everyone believed them without a second thought? Matteo didn't know which option was scarier.

 

He had paid a visit to Sara the night before, and it had actually gone alright. She was sad, but understanding, and they wished the best for each other and agreed to remain friends.

 

The bus ride home after had felt like freedom.

 

Now, the adrenaline had worn off and he was left with a stockpile of nervous energy. But if Matteo thought he was nervous, he hadn't seen David yet.

  


**Tuesday 9:13 AM**

 

David didn't know what he was thinking with all of this. The pressures of a new school must truly be taking a toll on him if he was able to make this many braindead decisions in such a short amount of time.

 

First, he had stammered out to Ben that No he didn't want to mess around in the locker room, he had a new boyfriend, thank you.

 

Ben's shock was almost worth it, but by the time he walked away David was reeling from the mistake. If Ben found out he was lying, David might actually die of embarrassment. And he wouldn't put it past his ex to tell the whole school. Maybe the bad decision making had started last year with dating Ben in the first place.

 

Either way, it was this poor sense of right and wrong choices that led David to this moment. Waiting for Matteo under a tree outside the school, about to begin a made up relationship. With _him_ of all people. David really did like making himself suffer didn't he?

 

On the other hand, maybe Matteo was the best person for the job. David would have to act like he had a crush on this person, and David was no actor. Once he tried out for the play at his old school and they made him play a tree. He was much better behind the scenes.

 

So, there it was. No need to pretend you have a crush on someone when you _actually_ have a crush on them.

 

He had seen Matteo on the first day of school. It wasn't like in their fake story, he had just seen him across the hallway and next think he knew he was always _hoping_ to see him in the hallway, and then actively _searching_ for him in the hallway and then walking certain routes because he _knew_ he would pass Matteo.

 

It was a silly crush from afar. Until Saturday night's party when Matteo had stumbled on to the scene at just the perfectly right time.

 

A text from Ben had come in moments before.

 

> **Ben:** Congrats on the new bf
> 
> You should double with me and Paul.
> 
>  
> 
> **David:** Why would we do that?
> 
>  
> 
> **Ben:** So that I can meet the guy, of course.
> 
> Unless you made him up… 😂

 

Of course Ben could tell he was lying. David hated that he could tell. He wanted to prove him wrong.  

 

> **David:** Fine, works for me.

 

Then the door had slid open and Matteo had appeared on the fire escape looking a bit bummed and David's heart started beating out of his chest.

 

And the rest just kind of happened.

 

The only thing that made David alright with everything was that Matteo seemed to be getting something out of the deal as well. However strange that seemed to be. David had no idea why Matteo would rather stage a coming out rather than admit to Sara and his friends that he didn't want to date her.

 

(Well, David did have one idea, but that was nothing but wishful thinking and he would not allow himself to go there.)

 

“Hi,”

 

The sound broke David out of his thoughts and he looked up to find Matteo himself standing over him. He was playing with the beanie on his head, repositioning it and bouncing on his heels a bit.

 

“Hey,”

 

“You ready for this?”

 

“No,” David said, keeping his tone light. He didn't want Matteo finding out just how not ready for this he was.

 

“Me neither,” Matteo laughed. “Come on,” he reached a hand out and helped David up off the grass. Once they were up, Matteo didn't let go of his hand, just started leading him into the school. David had to remind himself that they had planned it this way, that Matteo was only following their script.

 

As long as David did the same, everything would work out, right?

 

“Let's go fool some exes.”

  


**Tuesday 12:05 PM**

 

“I just don't get it, bro.” Jonas said later at lunch. Matteo rolled his eyes, tired of explaining it to them. To be fair, they had reason to be shocked. He had never mentioned liking guys before, obviously, let alone David. Still, he was feeling defensive.

 

“Do you have a problem with me dating guy, Jonas?” He asked, even though he knew that wasn’t it.

 

“What? Of course not. But you were dating Sara only yesterday. I just don't know how all this happened and we missed it.”

 

“Why didn't you tell us?” Carlos asked.

 

“I was figuring it out myself,” Matteo shrugged.

 

“I think it's cool.” Said Abdi.

 

“Of course it's cool,” Jonas snapped, but he still looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle. “I really am happy for you, bro.”

 

“Thanks guys,” he said, and as much as he was happy he wouldn't have to deal with their questions about Sara anymore, he didn't like lying to his friends. It was too late now though, even if Matteo wasn't sure Jonas was 100% convinced yet. “Can we switch the subject now?” He asked, and his friends easily started chatting about some sophomore girl from the party.

 

Some things would never change, but the difference was, no one expected Matteo to join in, and that made all the difference.

 

That morning, Matteo and David had walked into school holding hands, and that was that. The whole school knew. The boys had found out along with everyone else, which might have been a mistake, but Matteo hadn’t exactly had time to bring it up. Most people looked at them with vague interest, some congratulated them. Sara had even smiled at him when they passed her.

 

“It's weird,” Matteo said quietly. “If I had dumped her for a girl, she'd be so pissed.”

 

“But because it's a guy she probably thinks we're cute.” David finished.

 

“I mean, can't blame her for that,” Matteo teased, and where was this coming from? His mouth was running off without him. “We are pretty cute.”

 

David smiled at him, soft and crinkly-eyed. “You think so?”

 

“Oh hell yeah, we'll be this school's power couple in no time.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” Matteo said, “And I'll be the best boyfriend ever. Everyone will be jealous of you.”

 

“No way. I'll be the best one.” David argued with a smile.

 

“It's on.” Matteo said, and it was only then that he realized they had already gotten to his classroom, and now they were just standing in the hallway, holding hands for no reason. He dropped David's hand and took a step back.

 

“Yeah, so… I'll see you after your math class.”

 

“Yep,”

 

“Cool.”

 

“Cool.”

 

Matteo knew that normal couples would kiss at this point, but they had never talked about that. Matteo tried to imagine kissing David. He thought probably it would be fine. It was just a kiss after all. He always kissed Sara and god knows he never wanted to do that. Matteo thought that it would probably seal the deal with their classmates if they saw, but when he looked back up to suggest it, David was already halfway down the hall.

 

Probably for the better.

 

And so, David and Matteo were dating. It was simple as walking a few hallways holding hands. And even though Matteo was technically living a lie, he felt more free than he had in years.

 

He didn't have time to think about that too hard, so he pushed the thought away and walked into class.

  


**Tuesday 1:55 PM**

 

David was fidgeting all through History class. He couldn't make himself pay attention. After class, Matteo would be there to pick him up, and they had to make it look real, because this was his class with Ben.

 

When the period finally ended, David practically shot out of his seat, rushing to beat Ben out of the classroom.

 

Matteo was waiting, leaned up against some lockers right outside the room, just like he said he would be. He still wore David's beanie, but now some of his floppy hair had escaped out the front. David wanted to smooth it down with his hand.

 

Matteo's mouth pulled up into a lopsided smile when he saw him. He opened his arms for a hug and David was sure his heart was going to stop.

 

“Is he around?” Matteo asked against his shoulder.

 

“Should be coming out any second. He's in a red hoodie.” David answered. Matteo nodded, pulling away but only just, leaving his hands to rest on David's waist. They saw Ben duck out of the classroom, and Matteo swooped in, giving David a kiss on the cheek and whispering in his ear, “My sweater looks good on you,” David felt a little dizzy. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he got a chill down his spine. They hadn't planned that. He tried to focus, spared a glance in Ben's direction, and realized that his ex was already sauntering away down the hall. He hadn't seen any of it.

 

Matteo didn't seem to realize though, and was now curling his fingers into David's belt loops, smiling like David was the only person in the world. David's brain was all but short-circuiting. Matteo wasn't joking when he promised to be a model boyfriend.

 

“You uhm…” David said, distractedly. He shook his head a bit to snap himself out of it. God, he was totally fucked, wasn't he? “You can stop, he's gone. I don't think he even saw us.” David huffed in frustration at that. Ben was always so self-absorbed, of course he wouldn't notice what was happening right next to him.

 

“He seems to really get to you,” Matteo mused, “Why do you care so much what he thinks?”

 

David shrugged. “I don't know. I know I shouldn't, I just want to prove to him that I don't need him.”

 

“Well he seems like a loser. He probably didn't deserve you.” Matteo said, and he really didn't know what he was doing to David's heart, did he?

 

“He told me when we broke up I would never find someone else to like me that way.”

 

Matteo's eyebrows drew together and he looked down the hall at Ben's retreating figure. “What the hell?” Matteo said then, his voice raising slightly. “Who does he think he is?”

 

“Shh, you're attracting attention.”

 

“Sorry, but no wonder you want to get back at him.”

 

“Yeah, well.”

 

“You know he's wrong, right?”

 

“I guess. I don't know.”

 

“David,” Matteo snapped, “You don't honestly believe him?”

 

“No, I just…” David trailed off.

 

“I mean let's just look at the facts. You are cool and funny. You are smart and always sound like you know what you are talking about. You are cute and good looking, and--”

 

Matteo stopped talking, his eyes going wide. David, for his part, was frozen in place. He tried to think of something to say to smooth the air. Obviously, Matteo hadn't meant that for real but didn't know how to take it back without being mean.

 

“It's okay Matteo, I know what you meant.”

 

“Uh, yeah.”

 

“It's fine, really.”

 

“I have to go,” Matteo said then, “Or I'll be late.”

 

“Okay, see you later?”

 

“Later, yeah.”

 

David watched him walk away down the hall, feeling like something important had just happened, but not knowing quite what.

  


**Tuesday 2:50 PM**

 

Matteo didn’t surprise himself often. He was, on the whole, quite consistent and predictable, but the whole day had been wacky.

 

Obviously, these weren’t normal circumstances, so that’s what Matteo chalked it up to. All of the strange things that were coming out of his mouth, they were just side effects of a strange situation.

 

He went to seek out Jonas after school, hoping they could just go home, kick back, and play some video games. He really needed to get his mind off of things. He found Jonas out front by the steps, chatting with Abdi and Carlos.

 

This was normal.

 

What wasn’t normal was that _Ben_ of all people was standing with them, chatting along.

 

Matteo was almost outraged but realized that they didn’t know what Ben had done to David. _What an asshole._ Matteo approached the group, slinging one arm around Jonas and one around Carlos in greeting.

 

“There you are, Matteo,” Carlos said, “We were just talking about you.”

 

He saw a spark of interest in Ben’s eyes when Carlos said Matteo’s name. Obviously, word had gotten around to him by now.  It was clear to Matteo why he was here; Ben was seeking him out. Who the hell was this guy?

 

“So this is the infamous Matteo,” Ben said.

 

“Yeah,” Matteo said, trying and failing to reign in the annoyance in his voice, “And you are?”

 

It was so satisfying to see the frustration in his eyes. He had clearly expected Matteo to have heard about him from David. And well, maybe David had mentioned Ben, but _he_ didn’t have to know that.

 

“Name’s Ben,” He said, reaching out his hand to shake, “I know David.”

 

“Oh, really?” Matteo said. He shook Ben’s hand maybe a bit too aggressively. He could tell his friends were a bit startled by his behavior.

 

“I wanted to say congratulations,” Ben said, “I didn’t know there were any other out guys at this school, or I might’ve asked you out myself.” He laughed, and so did Matteo’s friends. Matteo himself did not. In fact, it physically straining Matteo not to roll his eyes. He didn’t dignify Ben’s comment with a response. “Uh, anyway, I was saying to him that we should double date. You guys and me and my guy, Paul. Gay solidarity and all that.”

 

“Yeah, solidarity.”

 

“So, you’re in.”

 

“Yeah,” Matteo said, “Yeah, we should definitely do that.” It was the perfect opportunity to show what a mistake it was to take someone like David for granted, and they could warn this Paul guy while they were at it. It was a win-win, Matteo thought.

 

He texted David as soon as he got on the bus.

 

 

> Matteo **:** _I made us a date_ 😂  
> 
> 
> David: _haha what?_
> 
>   
>  Matteo: A double date with Ben. We are so going to show him. He’s so jealous I can tell.  
> 
> 
> David: Wait are you being serious?  
> 
> 
> Matteo: Yes
> 
> _Oh sorry_
> 
> Should I not have done that?  
> 
> 
> David: _No it’s okay, I just didn’t think you would want to do that._
> 
> _The deal was only that we put up the act in school._
> 
> _You don’t have to waste your time with me after school too._
> 
>   
>  Matteo: _It’s not wasting my time, stupid_
> 
> _I like hanging out with you._
> 
> _Thursday, 6:30 PM. Be there._
> 
>   
> 

**Tuesday 11:17 PM**

 

David was trying to fall asleep, he really was. The problem was he couldn’t stop unlocking his phone to stare at the messages Matteo had sent earlier.

 

_I like hanging out with you._

 

And David actually felt himself blushing just reading the words. He sighed into his pillow. He really was in deep, and there was no turning back now.

 

When he finally fell asleep he dreamed of floppy hair and terribly patterned sweaters.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can pry my italics from my cold, dead hands


	3. And Wednesday Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David dances, Matteo pushes away all his feelings, Sara has a confession, and Jonas has questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so extremely unedited bc I'm lazy and want to get this up lalalala!!
> 
> Also I feel like the writing in this one is exceedingly bad so sorry in advance.

**Wednesday 9:24 AM**

 

On Wednesday, it rained. 

 

Matteo jogged into school holding his books over his head as a makeshift umbrella. His shoes squeaked on the linoleum as he walked the halls to his locker. 

 

He bypassed his locker in favor of approaching David, who was struggling to stuff all of his books into his own locker. He was also quite soggy from the rain. 

 

“Hey, you,” Matteo greeted. David smiled at him. His curls were dripping a bit onto his forehead. Without giving much thought to it, Matteo reached up and gave them a quick tousle, shaking some of the rainwater out. “Forget your raincoat?” Matteo teased. 

 

“Maybe my hair wouldn't have gotten so wet if someone didn't steal my beanie.”

 

“Someone took your beanie?” Matteo deadpanned. “Do you want me to beat them up?”

 

David rolled his eyes but his smile widened. 

 

“So I was thinking,” Matteo said, looking around to check if anyone was in earshot, “If we want to be convincing on our double date tomorrow we need to do some kind of trial run.”

 

“A trial run?”

 

“Yeah, I mean, we are pretty convincing, I think, but we are only ever keeping it up for 5? Maybe 10 minutes at a time?”

 

“So what should we do?”

 

“My friends want to hang tonight,” Matteo suggested. “We can practice around them.” He didn’t know why he felt so nervous bringing it up. It was meant to be a necessary thing. Something practical. For some reason, the nervous flutters in his stomach didn’t get the memo. 

 

“Cool,” David said, after some deliberation.

 

“Cool,” Mateo replied. David held his gaze, and it looked like he wanted to say something else. Matteo found himself waiting with bated breath to find out what it was, but before David could say anything, Leonie skipped up to them, holding her books on her hip. 

 

“Hey boys!”

 

“Hey, Leonie,” 

 

“Are you ready for class today, David?” She asked. Matteo hadn’t known they shared a class. He wished he had a class with David. They might have become friends before this whole ordeal if they had. 

 

“Yeah, I think so,” David said. 

 

“You’re coming, right, Matteo?”

 

“Sorry, coming where?” He asked. 

 

Leonie made a  _ duh  _ sort of expression. “To watch us dance?”

 

“It’s for our Athletics course,” David jumped in, looking a little bit embarrassed. “We’re doing a dance unit and a lot of the girls’ boyfriends come to watch.” 

 

“But Sara’s in that class and I never went?” Matteo said. 

 

“Exactly,” Leonie snapped, rolling her eyes in Matteo’s direction. “But I understand that you were going through some things,” she gestured vaguely to David. “So I forgive you for now. I just thought you wouldn’t want to make the same mistake twice. And don’t worry, she’s completely over you.”

 

“You really don’t have to come,” David said, but Matteo shook his head. 

 

“No, I’ll come.”

 

Satisfied, Leonie smiled, turned, and walked off down the hall, calling a quick “See you later, then!” over her shoulder. 

 

“Seriously, though, you don’t have to come.” David repeated, when Leonie was far enough away.

 

“Oh, I’m coming,” Matteo said, “Just try to stop me.”

 

“Seriously-”

 

“Did I or did I not promise to be the best boyfriend ever?” 

 

“Yeah, but-”

 

“Yeah, but!” Matteo mimicked. David shook his head, obviously trying to hide a smile. “I will see you there.” Matteo said, firm, like that was the end of that. He reached out and ruffled David’s hair one more time, just for show, and walked off to class. 

 

When he got there, he couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling of David’s damp curls on his fingers. 

  
  


**Wednesday 11:42 AM**

 

David was truly going to die. 

 

Ok, maybe he was being dramatic, but his nerves felt frayed at the edges and he felt like he might start hyperventilating any second. 

 

But not in a bad way. 

 

In a way where his chest felt full and he felt a little bit lightheaded because  _ Matteo  _ was coming to watch him  _ dance _ . He was jittery. It built up all through his morning classes and by the time he was walking to Athletics he thought he might need to scream or kick something to get it out. 

 

There were a few things he knew for sure:

 

  1. Matteo didn’t have to come to watch him. David had given him plenty of opportunities to get out of it, but he insisted on coming, and even though Matteo was probably just trying to keep up his end of the bargain, it gave David this tiny sliver of hope that maybe… just maybe there was more to it than that. 
  2. Matteo had never seen David dance before because he had never even shown up to watch Sara dance before.
  3. David was good. It sounded a bit dickish to acknowledge, but dancing was something that David knew he was good at. He knew people were impressed watching him. He hoped Matteo would be impressed. 



 

When he got to the locker room to change, he stared into the mirror for five minutes straight, just willing his nerves to die down. He took a few deep breaths and filled up his water bottle with the fountain, then made his was out to the gymnasium. 

 

David saw, the second he walked out, that Matteo was there, sprawled out on the bleachers next to some of the other guys, but he refused to truly look at him, afraid that his nerves would fly out of control. So he just struck up a conversation with Leonie and tried to pretend everything was normal. 

 

When the instructor called them together, David took as deep a breath as he could manage before falling into position. 

 

For most of the rehearsal, he could forget that Matteo was there. That was the coolest thing about dancing; you could lose yourself in it. And, oh, David did. But still there in the back of his mind was the fact that Matteo was watching and still there was the need for David to impress him. 

 

Finally, after what felt like the longest Athletics class in history, the instructor let them go for the rest of the period, and David let out a breath of relief. He high-fived a couple of his classmates and finally, finally let himself look over at Matteo. He seemed to be making small talk with one of the other boyfriends. 

 

David made his way over to the bleachers and sat down next to Matteo. The other guy got up to greet his girlfriend, leaving the bleachers otherwise unoccupied. Matteo didn’t look at him,and instead stared down at his sneakers. 

 

“Uhm,” David said, and hated how breathy and high his voice sounded, “Hi,”

 

“Hey,” He still didn’t look up. David felt like maybe he had done something wrong. Matteo cleared his throat. “If you didn’t want me to come all you had to do was say so.” 

 

“What?” David knit his eyebrows together in confusion, but Matteo still wasn’t looking at him. 

 

“I mean, it would have been fine. I know we’re not, like, really… you know.”

 

“Matteo,” He said, and the boy glanced up at him at last, small, through his eyelashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I tried to wave or say hey but you didn’t even look over, so obviously you didn’t want me here, but you should have just told me instead of making me sit here like an idiot-”

 

“I didn’t not want you here, stupid.” David said, and Matteo's face brightened, just a bit.

 

“Well you could have fooled me.” 

 

“You made me nervous, okay?” David snapped, and then Matteo’s face really did brighten, and even turned a little rosy. 

 

“Oh,”

 

“ _ Oh, _ ” David mimicked. Matteo smiled. 

 

“Anyway, your dancing was… really good. I don’t know how else to say it because I don’t know much about dancing, but… you know, I don’t know.” And now Matteo was definitely turning red and David wanted to take a picture of his cute flustered face. 

 

“ _ You know, I don’t know _ .” 

 

“Stop doing that!” Matteo demanded, nudging David’s arm with his own.

 

“ _ Stop doing that! _ ”

 

“That’s it,” Matteo said, and David could tell he was about to burst out laughing. He lunged down and grabbed David’s shoe, yanking it off and tossing it down the bleachers.

 

“What the heck, Matteo?”

 

“ _ What the heck, Matteo _ .”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Nuh uh.”

 

“Yuh huh,” And it was David who went for Matteo’s shoe this time, and it bounced down the bleachers like a basketball. They both dissolved into fits of laughter and by the time they calmed down they both had tears in their eyes. Then they hobbled down the bleachers, both with only one shoe. 

  
  


**Wednesday 12:50 PM**

 

“Hey, I hate to interrupt,” Sara said, as Matteo and David were both putting their other shoes back on. Matteo couldn’t remember the last time he laughed that hard. He looked up as Sara now with a genuine smile, and was suddenly struck with such happiness that he didn’t have to bullshit around her anymore. “Matteo, I was wondering if I could steal you away for a chat?” She asked. 

 

Matteo looked to David, who just shrugged and said, “I’ve got to go change anyway.” 

 

“Okay, I’ll see you later,”

 

“See you later.” 

 

Matteo and Sara watched David head off to the boys’ locker room. Most of the rest of the dancers were already in the locker rooms as well, leaving Sara and Matteo standing in the middle of the Gym, alone. 

 

Matteo hoped Sara wasn’t about to ask him to take her back. 

 

“You guys are really cute,” She said, and well, there was that. 

 

“Thanks,” Matteo said, feeling oddly proud despite the fact that this relationship was a complete lie. Huh, he would have to add that to the list of things to think about later. 

 

“So I had a question, and I want you to be honest, because I’m not asking for the reasons you are going to think I’m asking.”

 

“Okay,” Matteo said, feeling mildly nervous about where this was heading. 

 

“When did you know you were in love with David?” She asked, “And how?”

 

They were approaching dangerous territory. He didn’t want Sara thinking he cheated on her, but he didn’t want his and David’s fake relationship to be found out either. 

 

“I, um… I never said I was in love with him.”

 

“Well it’s obvious you at least like him, like, a lot. I can tell by the way you look at him.”

 

“Sara, I’m sorry--”

 

“No, Matteo, I already told you. I’m not asking because of our past. I’m asking because…” She trailed off, shuffling her feet a bit. “Do you know why I was always asking you to have sex?” she asked, suddenly. 

 

“Because I was your boyfriend?” Matteo guessed, “And that’s what boyfriends and girlfriends do.”

 

“No,” Sara said, “It was because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think I ever liked you as much as I wanted to.” And it wasn’t something that a person would normally want to hear, but Matteo was relieved to hear her say it. “I think I’ve always wanted someone else a little more. But it’s confusing. So I… just. How did you know? With David.”

 

Matteo took a breath to collect his thoughts. 

 

“With David it was like… we understood each other from the second we met.” Matteo said, and he was surprised to realize he was speaking from truth, talking about David the was he really would under normal circumstances. “I am so much more myself around him than anyone else. Even more than Jonas and the boys. It’s just this feeling like we were always supposed to meet, like we were inevitable.” Matteo got a chill when the words left his mouth. He pushed the feeling away, forcing himself to focus on Sara. 

 

Sara nodded, a sad smile making its way onto her face. It was a melancholy expression, and a little bit pained, like she recognized just what Matteo was saying. He wondered who could possibly be making her feel that way and then the pieces just sort of fell together. 

 

“Oh,” Matteo said, “Leonie?”

 

And Sara just nodded, tears springing up to her eyes. “I don’t know when it happened, but..it did and I don’t know what to do.”

 

Matteo wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, and it was the closest he had ever felt to her. 

  
  


**Wednesday 3:30 PM**

 

After school, Matteo met David at their lockers and prepped him to meet the guys. 

 

“So, Carlos is probably doing to ask a shitton of questions,” he explained as they walked. Their hands were clasped together, as they were still in school. David was trying not to focus on that too much. “Don’t feel like you have to answer anything you don’t want to, you can always just ignore him. Oh, and Abdi is kind of protective so he’s probably going to be sizing you up to make sure you’re chill. Don’t worry, you are. And Jonas doesn’t seem totally convinced, probably because he knows me best, so we have to make sure he doesn’t figure it out.”

 

“Is that all?” David asked, sarcasm evident in his voice. 

 

“Hey, you’ll be totally good. They’ll love you.”

 

“If you say so,”

 

“I say so.”

 

They got to the skate park and David suddenly got a bit nervous. He felt a little bit like he was meeting his boyfriend’s parents or something. Except obviously in this situation his boyfriend was fake and his parents were three teenage guys. At least it should have been obvious, but David had to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t really dating Matteo. 

 

Most of the afternoon went off without a hitch. Carlos did ask a ton of questions, but none were too difficult to be convincing about, and it did feel like Abdi was sizing him up a little at the beginning, but eventually he seemed to mellow out, and then it just felt like they were all chilling. The problem was Jonas.

 

For a bit, Matteo tried to teach David a thing or two on a skateboard, which David was utterly charmed by. David would stand on the board and Matteo would interlace their hands and pull him around the park. After a few circles, David insisted Matteo take his board back and do some actual skating with his friends, and that’s when Jonas skated up and sat next to David on the side of the bowl. 

 

“Hey bro,” He said, holding out his hand for a fist bump. David returned the gesture and they knocked fists. 

 

“Hey,”

 

“So you and Matteo happened pretty quick, huh?” He said, and it sounded conversational, but David knew he was skeptical about he and Matteo. 

 

“Uh, kind of, I guess,” David said. 

 

“When did you two meet again?” He asked. Jonas was  _ testing  _ him. 

 

“Uh, my first day here,” David answered, praying that Matteo had stuck to their story. “I asked him for help finding my room.” Jonas nodded. 

 

“Oh yeah, gotcha.”

 

“Did you convince him to finally break up with Sara, or?”

 

“Uh, no. He decided on his own.”

 

“Hm.” Jonas nodded a couple of times, and David was pretty sure he was winning. 

 

“Hey if you’re trying to make sure I’m good enough for him or something, I’ve already been through it with Abdi,” David said, and Jonas smiled at that. 

 

“No, sorry bro, I’ll cool it. Just trying to hear the whole story, you know,” He teased, “Trying to understand why a smart guy like you would choose our poor, sweet Matteo.”

 

“Are you guys trash talking me?” Matteo asked, ditching his board and sitting down on the other side of Jonas. 

 

“Definitely,” David said.

 

“There’s just so many weird things about you, bro,” Jonas said, “How could we not? Like, for instance, your purposefully messy hair. Don’t deny it, I know you mess it up when you think no one’s looking.”

 

“And the way you smile after you think you’ve said something funny, like you think you’re just so cool.” David put in. Jonas laughed and Matteo scoffed. 

 

“And oh, have you seen the weird birthmark he has on his chest?” Jonas said, turning to David. 

 

“Oh yeah,” David lied, “What shape even is that?” He laughed, but this time he was the only one. When he looked over, Matteo was looking at him with panic in his eyes, and Jonas was pointedly looking at his shoes. Then Jonas looked over at Matteo, and David couldn’t see what kind of look it was but it made him feel like he had said something wrong. 

 

“I’m gonna skate some more,” Jonas said then, and hopped down off the ledge. He grabbed his board and zoomed away. 

 

“What was that about?” David asked. 

 

“He knows.” Matteo replied. 

 

“What? How?”

 

“I have a birthmark on my back, not my chest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still Tuesday here sooooo I'm not a liar. Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter things really gonna get juicy.
> 
> BTW thank you for all your comments they are all so sweet and make me happy & I'm so glad y'all are enjoying this silly thing!!!


End file.
